Stay
by Mana9978
Summary: Entry for Icecakequeen's contest. Masquerade returns after five years to make a confession to Alice. But is he really ready for this? Will Alice even want to hear him? Read to find out! One-shot.


**This is an entry for Icecakequeen's contest. It's a Masquerade and Alice one-shot based loosely on the song "My life would suck without you" by Kelly Clarkson. I am not generally a fan of romance so forgive me if it didn't turn out so well!**

**Just so you know, this is my first fanfic and English is not my mother language so any criticism, idea or basically anything constructive would be really appreciated.**

**I do not own Bakugan or the song.**

He never thought he could get infected too. Infected by the chronic and incurable disease called love. He said he'll leave her for good. Though there he stood again helplessly, right in front of her, in the very same meadow they last met. It certainly wasn't an easy task for the once stonehearted villain to admit how he really felt, but he knew he couldn't deny it anymore. Confrontation was the only option left. Behind the mask, he was desperate to let his feelings loose. It took him five years to persuade himself that he should face the music and tell her the truth, but now that he was there, he didn't know what to say.

She stood there shocked, confused, and immobilized. He wasn't supposed to exist anymore. He was long gone. She knew that. She saw him fade away. However, he was right there. No more than six feet away and she could feel his presence more than any other time. She once wanted him gone. To let her be herself for the rest of her life. She wanted herself back. But now, she wasn't so sure if she felt the same way.

Both stood there in silence with only the sound of the gentle breeze. Chocolate brown eyes stared at their reflection in the glass covering the eyes of the person she once abhorred. The long white coat, the unruly blonde hair, the purple pants, the black boots, the brown belts and finally the always familiar mask brought back too much memory to her. From his visible features, she could tell he was tense, but she just couldn't figure out why. She couldn't understand any of this.

"Masquerade…"

He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He couldn't say anything. Not after he left her alone for all these years. Clenching his fist, he slowly closed his mouth and pressed his lips together forming a thin line.

"Masquerade you're…"

He was what? A liar? A traitor? The most selfish person she had ever met? Whatever he was to the redhead, he knew he couldn't argue with it. He stayed for too long. He stayed selfishly against her pleas to leave her alone. He stayed for his own sake and completely neglected her feelings. And he only realized what he had done when he found out he was falling hard for the Russian girl. So he left her. He said he wouldn't return. That he was gone for good. However, that didn't turn out to be entirely true. All he could do now was to drop his head and wait for her to throw any insult she had in mind at him. She had every right to call him anything she wanted. She really did.

"You're… back."

That certainly wasn't what he expected her to say.

"I understand if you don't want to see me again… I'll leave if you want me-"

"No!"

What did she say?

"No. Don't do that to me again!"

Slowly he looked up. Her long red hair was moving with the wind as her yellow dress flowed behind her. Chocolate brown eyes were as magnificent as he remembered them and her skin was just as white as porcelain. She was an angel. An angle living on earth to prove him that even he was vulnerable to the most powerful feeling called love. He knew he truly loved her. He admired her and worshipped her with every essence of his being. Only if she knew that…

"Alice I'm…Sorry."

That just made her heart sink. He was… apologizing? The person who was once every brawler's worst nightmare was apologizing to _her_?

"I know I caused you more pain than I can imagine. I should've left earlier. I hurt you by staying when I could've just left. Alice, I'm here to apologize."

No. That was not it. He wasn't there just to say he was sorry for taking advantage of her. He wanted to tell her about his feelings for her. To say that… he missed her. And he wanted to be with her again. But he couldn't tell her the truth. It would've been foolish. A mistake. How could she ever welcome him back? She couldn't. Not in a million years.

"I don't expect you to accept it. I hurt you too much and I know that. But I just need to let you know that I never meant to hurt you. Never. And I'm sorry for doing so, Alice."

"You left because you thought you may hurt me more if you stayed?"

"…yes."

"You hurt me by leaving me Masquerade."

"Huh?"

She slowly started to advance towards him as he stood there motionless. He was dumbfounded. Did she…No. She couldn't. It was simply impossible.

"I always longed for you to come back."

She stopped when they were only inches apart. Reaching forward, she slowly grabbed his hand, an action which surprised him.

"Please. Stay. Don't go this time. I trust you. I know you won't hurt me."

"Alice…"

"I know that I once asked you to leave, but Masquerade, I just need you to stay. Because from the time without you I learned that…"

Tightening her grip on his hand, she looked at him with pleading eyes.

"My life would be meaningless without you. Please. Will you stay?"

She wanted him to stay. He heard her say that loud and clear. He knew he wanted the same thing. He wanted to be with her forever. This was just…too good to be true though. It couldn't be real. Or could it?

"Please?"

This was real. This was definitely real. He smiled and took her hand in his. Then, he nodded.

"It's good to have you back Masquerade!"

**Well that's it. I hope I didn't mess up too bad! Please review your thoughts so that my next stories will be more satisfactory.**


End file.
